Promise
by Justanothersinger
Summary: Second chances were worth nothing to a dying man. Especially to them, all too familiar with the curse of regret. An in-depth look at Shintaro and 'Kuroha's' meeting in the Lost Time Memory vid.


Promise

A Kagerou Project fanfiction

It hits him hard, the realization.

He couldn't breathe for a long, painful second. Heart stopped, breath in his throat, painfully lodged and he stares and stares and stares.

He sees it, sees it there. Right there.

He doesn't recognize those eyes.

He doesn't recognize that face. That form.

But...

He ignores the little whispers in his mind, the screaming in his ears. Everything.

He leans forward.

He stumbles.

When did his feet start moving?

Air rushes past his face, he feels the warmth on his cheek. Blood on his tongue.

Hands grab at his jacket but his body, his weak, weak body that can barely run a mile manages to pull away from them and he keeps running forward.

He runs right into him, feels fabric under his fingers and he clutches at the boy's shirt for dear life.

Those eyes are looking right at him.

Yellow. Slitted like a cat's.

Not at all what he remembered what they looked like.

But...

Someone's sobbing. Crying pathetically.

"Sen...pai...?"

He feels the body underneath him freeze, sees those eyes look back at him.

Ah...it's him. It's Shintaro himself, crying like that.

"Shintaro!"

"Onii-chan! What are you doing?!"

They're not the words he wants to hear, needs to hear, he needs to hear them, _needs,_ please please, _please, he's never prayed this hard these past two years but he's praying now to a god he barely believes in-_

Shintaro's hands grip his shirt tighter and he peers close, heart hammering in his ears, blocking everything else out.

Even the scent of blood.

 _Please, I beg of you. God, please!_

On a scratchy voice borne of a crushed windpipe, he utters his prayer out loud.

"Senpai...?" He tries again and this time, he sees the reaction. Clear as day. "H-Haruka-senpai?"

God, he barely remembers the syllables of his name and how they tasted in his mouth, had he tried to forget that much?

"Shin..?"

It's only half a name, half a name, but it's in that voice that he doesn't even remember so he can't be mad.

He...

...Can he even be mad right now?

"Haruka-senpai...oh, god, it really is-!"

"Shintaro..." A pained whisper, in a voice that haunted his nightmares. Words ripped from 'Haruka's' throat, a soft, death rattle.

"Shintaro...get away."

"...H...uh?" 

"Get away!"

Haruka pushes him away and he's stronger than Shintaro remembers, Shintaro's too surprised to cling on and he falls to the ground.

A click above his head and there's the gun again.

Pointed at his head.

Not Shintaro's.

"...! Haruka?!"

"Stay away from me!"

Ah...there were tears tracking his face.

 _Why was he crying?_

 _Why?_

"Why did you remember me...?" Haruka manages to choke out, "Why now?! Why now when I'm...?!"

Shaky fingers grab at the gun , trying to pull it away.

"I...I'm about to kill you. I was about to kill you." Konoha, no _Haruka,_ tries to move away from him. His free hand scratches at his upper arm, his face is twisted in pain.

The look in his eyes is _heartbreaking_.

What happened to him? What exactly happened to him during these years?

...Almost unbeknownst to him, something stirs at the back of Shintaro's mind.

"I thought you died all that time ago..." Shintaro says in a hushed tone. Haruka looks back at him and Shintaro's heart twists even more as he sees the boy's expression.

"I should've. I should've died back then. If only I wasn't so selfish..." 

"Selfish?"

...

..

.

 _Likeme_

"...I've condemned everyone. My friends, you, I...I'm sorry."

"H-Haruka?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Im so rry."

 _Dontapologizeitsneveryourfault_

His breathing is labored and he bends over and Shintaro flinches back as he hears Haruka scream.

"Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry Imsorry"

"Haruka?! Hey!"

"I'm sorry for being so selfish, worthless, please I beg of you-!"

"Haruka!" 

"I'm begging you, don't kill him!"

The last part of sentence is ripped in a scream and Shintaro suddenly hears laughter, mad laughter, terrifyingly insane.

Haruka. Haruka was the one laughing.

And as Haruka stared at Shintaro, the boy asks, "Who are you?"

The stranger wearing Haruka and Konoha's face seemed taken aback by his question. The color of his eyes flickered, like static on a badly-tuned tv.

From sleepy pink - _laughterfosdodfunprotectcarehibiyahejysvhulhnsswawantedafriend_ -to violent cat yellow - _bloodthescentofbloodscreamingdb ibhedbcl dbad screamingbSCREAMINGSTARVATIONjshnijbnijishisssing-_ and finally back to dark brown.

Haruka. Konoha. The stranger.

All of them and none of them.

Three entities in one body. Tearing it apart.

Again, Shintaro hears footsteps and screaming from somewhere. A hand that grabs the gun, sees the shock on Haruka's face, so close and the gun faces him.

 _Bang._

His fate decided with a single bullet.

Even as he falls to the ground, he sees Haruka crumple with him, yelling something that Shintaro can't hear over his own ringing ears.

Hey. Why are you crying? Shintaro tries to ask. He tries to smile but can't feel his own face anymore.

Hands fall weakly from the stranger's collar and Shintaro closes his eyes.

The moth-wing fluttering in the back of his mind stills finally, but Shintaro still remembers.

 _I should've supported you more...right?_

 _You and Konoha._

His thoughts are almost at a standstill now. Just like his heart.

 _Next time...in the next time loop...I'll support you. Always._

He thinks he feels the warmth of a kiss and tears through his numb face.

 _Next time, I'll tell you that I lov-_

 _Bang._


End file.
